Fitbit announces Flex – wristband fitness tracker

Fitbit, makers of popular fitness trackers Fitbit Zip and Fitbit One, will add one more to their lineup. Called the Flex, it is essentially a wristband that tracks not only your fitness activity; but also monitors your sleeping patterns. The Fitbit One does the same thing, but it clips onto your body – which can be uncomfortable when sleeping. Now, you can get the same thing, except you wear it on your wrist.

The Flex also features an LED indicator that will light up the more you do every day. It also has Bluetooth 4.0 to sync your data automatically to your mobile phone or through your computer. Data is synced automatically that way as well.

It should be out in the Autumn our time, with preorders starting on their website today. It will be priced at $99.95, and no word on international availability. Press release below:

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Fitbit, the leading innovator and market leader in the growing Connected Health & Fitness category, debuted the Fitbit Flex™ Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband. Flex is the first and only wristband on the market to sync with Bluetooth 4.0 – which means more flexibility when you’re on the go and want to check your stats. By combining its expertise in building high performance wireless connected devices with a flexible, comfortable wristband format, Fitbit plans to accelerate the category growth by becoming the first and only brand to offer a clip and wristband tracker option.

Fitbit Flex is a slim, stylish activity and sleep tracking wristband that’s with you all the time and helps make fitness part of your everyday lifestyle. The new Fitbit Flex tracks steps taken, distance travelled, and calories burned, encouraging you to walk more and do more through bright LED indicator lights on the wristband that give you immediate feedback on your progress to a goal throughout the day. It also tracks how long and how well you sleep, allowing you to learn how to sleep better.

Flex uses Bluetooth 4.0 to sync your data automatically to your Fitbit dashboard using select iPhone, iPad and Android devices, or your computer – no buttons to push, nothing to plug in. With Flex, your smartphone or tablet become your dashboard, giving you access to Fitbit’s rich graphs and tools (leaderboard, badges, etc.) on the go to keep you motivated throughout the day. By adding a wristband tracker to its activity tracker portfolio, Fitbit offers everyone more ways to wear their trackers, and more ways to fit them more seamlessly into their everyday lifestyle.

“People are becoming more aware of the significant health benefits that come from moving more throughout the day. Fitbit has proven expertise in providing a great experience that will actually get people to move more each day – this is done with our easy-to-understand graphs and charts, ability to set daily goals and compete with friends and family,” says James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit. “We’re aware that there is no ‘one size fits all’ option in fitness, so Fitbit wants to offer the widest variety on the market. When we saw that we could bring our knowledge to a wristband format done right, we had to create the new Flex.”

Fitbit Flex ($99.95) is available for pre-orders starting today on Fitbit.com and will ship in Spring 2013.

Unforgettable Wristband Design

The slim and stylish Flex is comfortable to wear all day, motivating you to achieve your daily fitness goals. Flex’s indicator lights will illuminate as you hit 20% increments of reaching a goal (such as walking 10K steps). Flex comes in five great colors and you can even switch bands to match your mood or help make fitness part of your lifestyle.

Social motivation: Connect with friends and family for support or friendly competition

Even more health and fitness tools: Log food, weight and more on Fitbit’s website or apps

Flex to Sync Through Bluetooth 4.0 for select iPhone and Android Devices

Flex is the first all-day wristband tracker with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, so it can wirelessly and automatically sync your stats to select Apple and Android devices. Using the Fitbit mobile app, you can to set a goal, see stats updated, and track your progress when you are on the go. And because you can sync wirelessly throughout the day, you can also receive notifications on your phone when you are close to your goals to keep you motivated and, when you meet your goals, to celebrate your achievements.

Rich Social and Mobile Platform for Motivation and On-the-Go Stats

Like all Fitbit trackers, you can also sync your data to your online account through your computer with an included Bluetooth 4.0 USB dongle. Whether online or on a mobile device, you can see graphs, earn activity badges, set up a friendly competition with friends and family, and log food or other work-outs. These tools encourage you to stay active and keep you motivated. You can even compete on the Fitbit leaderboard that refreshes throughout the day for moment-to-moment inspiration. If you’re more self-motivated, you can earn badges for daily or lifetime achievements.

Fitbit also integrates with many popular health and fitness apps, including Endomondo, LoseIt, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and Sparkpeople, to allow users to share data from their favorite apps.

Android Syncing

More news! Not only is Fitbit is the only player in the personal connected health and fitness device space to offer an Android app, it also will be the first to offer Bluetooth 4.0 syncing capabilities to select Android devices, coming late in January/early February. Owners of the Fitbit One, Zip and now Flex will be able to track their progress on select Android phones. The updated Android app will be compatible with the Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Note II. More devices will be available soon.

This new development emphasizes Fitbit’s investment in multiplatform mobility. Earlier this month, Fitbit released an app built specifically for the Microsoft Surface Tablet.

Rapidly Growing Product Line and Company Growth

Fitbit Flex follows on the successful launches of three Fitbit products within the last year: the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale, Fitbit Zip and Fitbit One Wireless Activity + Sleep Trackers. Fitbit products are carried in over 10,000 U.S. retailer stores, and sold internationally, in countries like Canada, Spain, UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand